Breaking: Iraqi President to visit Syria for first time during war

Iraqi President Barham Salih will pay an official visit to the Syrian capital in the next few days for the first time since the start of the Syrian civil war back in 2011, an Iraqi diplomatic source told Sputnik on Tuesday.

“The president of Iraq will pay an official visit to Damascus in the coming days,” the source said.

Barhim Salih, who served as prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan in 2009-2012, was elected president by the country’s parliament earlier in October.

Salih’s visit to Damascus comes just days after Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir became the first Arab leader to travel to Syria since the start of the war.